


Impulsive Decisions

by bmlhillenkeene



Series: DC Comics Verse [1]
Category: Impulse (Comics)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-26
Updated: 2016-01-26
Packaged: 2018-05-16 07:52:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,707
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5820274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bmlhillenkeene/pseuds/bmlhillenkeene
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the Aftermath of the Mercury Rising storyline in the Impulse comics.</p><p>Bart is feeling out of place now that he's been returned and Inertia has been unveiled. In fact, he's started to think maybe everyone would be happier with Inertia back and him gone.</p><p>Max does his best to set him straight.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Because I just bought and read the entire Impulse comic book series and when it got to the part where Bart saved Max by getting him to the speed force, and the party that followed and the talk he had with Carol where he expressed his doubts over whether Max was PROUD of him, and how he was worried that everyone else had preferred Inertia to him I thought to myself “OMG! Max and Bart are going to have a real, meaningful conversation, and I’m going to see hugs!” and then… there wasn’t… hugs, and crying and everyone assuring Bart that they loved him anyway. The moment felt cheapened, and Max was really opening up about loving Bart and everything.
> 
> So I had to do something.

“Wally.”

Wally started and turned, gaze drifting downwards to where Bart stood, face set in a serious expression. For a moment Wally thought the clone was back, but before he could take steps to figure it out Bart spoke again.

“Can we talk… in private.”

Wally found himself nodding, because if the clone had somehow managed to come back from wherever he’d disappeared to and take Bart hostage *again*, it would be best to deal with him away from the rest of the party, after all, there were civilians present.

“Sure kid.” He said, and followed the boy down the hall and into the still mostly neat room. “What’s up?”

Bart fidgeted. “So you know the other me? Inertia?” the boy asked, head bowed. “And how everyone liked him better?”

Wally felt a sudden chill run through him. Was Bart having some sort of emotional moment? Wally was not equipped to deal with an insecure Bart Allen. What was he supposed to say? ‘Yeah Bart, we remember him, and no we totally didn’t like him better than you, even though we sort of did because for once we thought you were taking things seriously, that you were growing up.’ Even he wasn’t such a bastard as to do that, though a guilty part of him did think back fondly over the weeks where he’d been able to talk with his ‘cousin’ without feeling the need to strangle him.

“Yeah.” Bart breathed out then, breaking the too long pause, and Wally could hear the hurt behind that one word and it made him feel even guiltier.

“Bart,” he said, because he was pretty sure the kid wasn’t the clone now. “Maybe I should get Max…”

Bart immediately surged forward, catching his arm tight and refusing to let go. “No!” he cried out. “No! You can’t get Max. I need to talk to you about this!”

“But Bart, I’m no good at these sorts of things.” Wally tried.

“That’s not what I want to talk about.” Bart said, tugging furiously at his arm until he pushed him into the desk chair to sit, so they were eye level. If Bart would raise his head to look at him at least. “I know you all liked him more. He was smart, and clean, and not as annoying as I am. That’s why I have to talk to you. I need to know if there’s a way to find him and bring him back.”

Wally froze, mind racing as he tried to keep up with the illogical request.

“Max liked having him here. Because he listened to what he said, and he did what he was told, and he was able to get Max to the Speed force.”

“You did that.” Wally tried to break in, but was ignored.

“I disappoint Max all the time, and I know a lot of the time he wishes I wasn’t here. And I know you don’t want me around ‘cause I’m annoying and I don’t ever do anything the right way, so I know why you gave me to Max. But I don’t think it’s fair anymore Wally.” Bart glanced up at him then, a flicker of his eyes before they were focused back to the floor, and Wally didn’t know what to say.

“It’s not fair for me to be here when he had the perfect kid for a while. So I think it would be better if we got him back.”

Wally waited to see if any more was forthcoming. Max had told him what had happened, about what the clone had said when he’d been offered a place with them. “You heard what he said. He doesn’t want to live with you.”

Bart’s shoulders sort of slumped. “I know.” He said. “So I was thinking that maybe you’d have to put me in an orphanage or something.” He glanced up again, and he must have seen the shock on Wally’s face, and completely misinterpreted it if his next words were any indication. “No, look, see I have it all worked out!” he explained in a rush. “Inertia can move in with Max and Helen, and they can be a family, like they deserve, and I can go wherever you think I should go. And I know you’re worried about the whole speed thing, but I was thinking you could maybe use your speed force thing to you know…” there was a sudden hitch of breath. “Take away my speed.” There was another hitch, and Bart’s eyes were wide. “That way you wouldn’t have to have anyone else look after me, and maybe I could still visit Max and Helen sometimes, you know, if Inertia… if Thad… was busy somewhere else. Maybe. If they wanted.”

Wally was on his feet, hands on Bart’s shoulders. The boy had started hyperventilating when he’d suggested Wally take his speed away, and each word after had been framed by a desperate breath, as the stress of what he was offering to do hit him. Wally didn’t know what to do.

He was never so glad in all his life when Max opened the bedroom door; his face pinched and worried, and took the panicking child away from him.

*~*

Max had been looking for Bart for a while, but his search had been constantly cut short by the many well-wishers at the party. He’d been serious before, when he’s told them that they were all missing the point of the party. Bart should have been the one to get the congratulations.

Finally he’d finagled his way out of another conversation and slipped into the hallway to the bedrooms. Thinking that Bart had maybe gotten distracted by something in his room he made his way down, only to freeze when his hand reached the handle on the door when he heard;

“Inertia can move in with Max and Helen, and they can be a family, like they deserve, and I can go wherever you think I should go. And I know you’re worried about the whole speed thing, but I was thinking you could maybe use your speed force thing to you know… take away my speed. That way you wouldn’t have to have anyone else look after me, and maybe I could still visit Max and Helen sometimes, you know, if Inertia… if Thad… was busy somewhere else. Maybe. If they wanted.”

Bart’s voice had sped up, choking and gasping as he tried to get the end of his statement out, and Max was chilled to the bone. Because he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that Bart had thought this out, that he’d chosen Wally to tell it to (because that was Wally saying Bart’s name over and over again in a panic) because he knew Wally didn’t much like him, and that if anyone would help him put this foolish idea into action it would be him.

Because Bart truly had no self-esteem when it came to his worth to his family.

Max finally forced his hand to move and pushed the door open, striding across the room and sweeping the gasping boy off his feet, turning him into his chest and holding him there as the panicky breaths gave way to heaving sobs.

“Wally, clear the house.” Max murmured, dropping himself carefully into the large beanbag chair Bart kept in front of his game station. Wally nodded and vanished. Max tuned out the sounds of people asking questions, wondering what was happening and why Max had suddenly decided the party had to end. He stroked his fingers through Bart’s hair soothingly, face creased in worry when all that seemed to do was make Bart cry harder.

They sat like that for what seemed like hours, until the sobbing had died away, and Bart had slumped, eyes hooded, picking at a loose thread in Max’s jumper. Finally Max felt he could ask. “Want to tell me what that was all about?”

Bart tensed, and Max made sure to keep his arms tight around him, glad when he slumped back down instead of vibrating away. 

When he got no answer he resumed stroking Bart’s hair. “You know, I feel a bit guilty Bart.” He said softly. Bart’s fingers stilled where he had been picking at the thread, and he tensed again. “I feel guilty because while Inertia was here, being you and accomplishing the things that I’ve had such a difficult time teaching you… I felt that I had somehow finally succeed… that I had made good on my promise to Wally to raise you and instruct you in the use of your powers…” he paused, not sure how to go on.

“Because he was better than me.” Bart intoned softly.

Max sighed.

“It’s ok that you think so.” Bart continued. “It’s ok…” his breath hitched.

Max sighed again, tightening his hold on the boy once more. “No it’s not.” He said decisively. “It’s not ok, and it’s even less ok that *you* think so.” He pressed a kiss into the tangled mess of hair and asked. “Do you really think Helen and I would just let you disappear off somewhere? That we’d just settle down with Inertia and forget about you?”

Bart shuddered. “But you did.” He whispered.

“Because we didn’t know, Bart. We should have, but we didn’t read the signs right, we didn’t know he wasn’t you. And you have no idea how sorry I am that I didn’t realise.”

Bart did struggle then and pushed himself up, his face was blotchy and red and his eyes puffy. Max was ready for anger, for the boy to finally give in and be angry that everyone had been so easily fooled by his doppelganger. “But you were sick! And Helen was worried about you… and I’m sorry.” And that, right there was why Max was most proud of his boy.

“I am so *Proud* of you Bart, of the person that you are inside. How when you take the time to stop and think about something, it’s always about others. You’re kind and considerate and you have a heart that’s far too big for you.” He made sure to hold Bart’s eyes with his, willed him to see just how serious he was. “When I offered Inertia somewhere to stay it wasn’t ever because I wanted to replace you. I know you’d give up everything you had in a second if you thought it would make things better, what you said… what I heard you say proves that in spades. But I never want to hear you offer that again. Never again.”

Bart’s eyes were wide, and Max could see the glassy tint to them, and he knew Bart wasn’t going to last much longer, he was exhausted and worn out, and there was still doubt and insecurity eating away inside him, Max could read it clear as day in the way he let himself be pulled into another hug.

“I’m sorry for ruining your party.” Bart whispered against his chest.

Max smiled sadly. “You didn’t.”

Bart mumbled something else, but he was asleep before he could finish the first word.

*~*

Later, on the couch in the living room, Wally filled Max and Helen in on Bart’s whole plan. Bart lay on the middle couch cushion, his head in Max’s lap and his feet in Helens, sleeping fitfully, cocooned in a thick blanket, dead to the world. Max was reluctant to leave him to wake up alone.

“God what sort of a person does he think I am?” Wally asked when he was done, looking sick. “I know we don’t get on… but he thought I would just…”

There was really nothing any of them could say. Bart had truly believed Wally would help him with his plan. Had truly believed that Wally thought so little of him that he would steal away his speed and dump him in an orphanage. He also believed that Max and Helen would abandon him too, that they would much prefer having Inertia as their family if they had the choice.

“So what do we do?” Helen asked, her eyes still wet with tears. “How do we convince him that it’s him we love?”

Max shrugged, stroking his fingers through the messy hair again. He’d thought they’d reached that understanding with each other when Bart was leaving to go with his mother, but he’d forgotten that Bart really had no concept of family and unconditional love. He’d been torn away from his mother, tortured, then raised in a computer game then whisked into the past where he was passed from person to person until he’d ended up in Max’s care.

“We teach him what love is I suppose.” He suggested.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I felt like I couldn’t leave it there. Wally needed to say his piece. And I also wanted to look into Wally’s reasons behind his jut dumping Bart on Max as soon as he could.

“Hey Bart.” Wally said, leaning against the door frame and waiting for the boy to turn round to look at him. Max had kept him off school for a few days, partially because Bart needed the time even if he didn’t realise it, and partially because Max and Helen, and to a lesser extent Wally, needed to be sure he wasn’t still thinking of a way to follow through on his ludicrous plan.

Wally had been in an out of the house for short visits every day to check in, not sure what to say, but knowing he would need to man up and say something.

“Max already lectured me.” Bart said, as if that would stop any further lectures Wally had in mind. Golden eyes turned to him and Wally wasn’t happy to see that they looked resigned. “I know that trying to bring Inertia back would be a bad thing, especially if it’s to replace me.”

Wally wasn’t entirely convinced that Bart believed that. “That wasn’t what I wanted to talk about.” He made his way into the room and dropped cross legged on the floor in front of Bart, who was fiddling with a Gameboy. Wally didn’t think he was really playing it. He ran over all things he wanted to say, all the questions he wanted to ask and wondered where he should start.

“Bart,” he began.

“You don’t have to you know.” Bart said, not looking at him, probably just as embarrassed as Wally was by the whole thing. “Max and Helen have been all weird since the party, cooking me my favourite stuff, and letting me stay off school and hugging. And they keep trying to have these talks with me, and their voices go all sad like I’m not getting something. But I don’t understand what the big deal is? I mean, Max should be annoyed that I messed up his party right? And you keep coming over, and it’s like I’ve done something wrong. Because you never come over so much unless I’ve done something wrong, but Max keeps saying that I haven’t and I don’t think he would lie to me. He said you were worried about me and I don’t know *why*.”

Bart did look at him then, frustrated and confused and really, truly not getting why everyone was behaving like they were.

“Ok. First off, Max is right. Ii am worried about you.” Wally said at last, jumping on the opening into the conversation he needed to have. “I’m worried about *us*. And the fact that you think I could just take away the most important things in your life and not look back. I’m *worried* that you came to me and asked me to take your speed away, that you asked me to take you away from Max. I’m so far beyond worried that you actually thought I would do it!” he claws a hand through his hair.

Bart frowned, his fingers still hitting random buttons on the Gameboy, eyes fixed on the screen. “Why is everyone still talking about that? I get it. It was a bad idea.”

“No Bart, I really don’t think that you do get it.” Wally sighed. “I mean, I know we don’t always get on, and I’m on your case a lot, but that doesn’t mean that I’m ever going to just… throw you away like that. I mean, I get where you’d come to that conclusion, Iris gave you to me to train and look after and the first thing I do is dump you on Max, and yeah, I’m hardly ever just dropping in for a visit to say hi, and I get on your case a lot. But God, Bart… You make me feel like my father sometimes, and that’s not your fault, it’s mine and…” Wally heaved another sigh. “And Max is just so much the better choice to look after you.”

Bart was looked at him now, frowning slightly as he tried to figure out what Wally meant. It wouldn’t make any sense to him Wally knew, but Wally had always been afraid of turning into the same man as his father, and Bart seemed to bring that side of him out in spades. If he’d kept Bart, if he’d taken on the responsibility his aunt had expected of him… well, he didn’t like to think just how easy it would have been to quash everything that made Bart who he was, because it would have been Bart who would have changed, been forced to change, and Wally probably wouldn’t even have realised what he’d done until it was too late.

Like he himself had needed his Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry to buffer him from his own fathers domineering presence, Bart needed Max and Helen to keep him from being smothered under Wally’s own expectations.

“Why did you come to me?” he asked at last, not wanting to hear the answer, but knowing he had to. He had to face up to the monster Bart clearly saw him as if anything was ever going to change.

“Because you’re the Flash.” Bart answered him, making him frown. “I mean, I thought of maybe going to Robin, because, you know, he’s got the whole ‘Bat-detective’ thing going on, and he could probably have found Inertia for me pretty quick… But I haven’t really seen him, or any of them in a while, and I’m not too sure how I’m gonna explain how I was replaced… because it’s gonna make Robin so mad that he didn’t realise at the time and…”

He trailed off and Wally could fill in the ‘and they’ll be even more annoyed when they realise that it’s the old impulse back, because Inertia was just better.’ Jeez the kid really did have some serious self-worth issues.

“So I didn’t want to make them feel bad that they didn’t notice, and you already knew, and are connected to the Speed force like Max is.” Bart shrugged. “And I couldn’t ask Max because I knew he’d feel guilty because he didn’t notice, but he was sick, so I’m not surprised that he didn’t and he shouldn’t feel guilty, and neither should Helen. Inertia was just really good at being me. You know, a better me.”

Wally frowned, but he couldn’t think of anything that Max and Helen hadn’t already said to Bart about that particular issue. “But why me? What on earth made you think I’d ever agree to do it?” he pressed.

“Because you help people.” Bart said quietly. “That’s what you do. You help people. And I just thought that with all the people my plan would help that you’d agree. And, you know, you wouldn’t have to worry about me anymore, so that would help you too, right?”

Something in Wally’s chest hurt. “But what about you? Nothing in that plan of yours was in your best interests at all.”

Bart sort of huddled into himself, and Wally’s hands itched to pull him into a hug. His hyperactive little cousin should never look so downtrodden. “Well, that’s why I… I thought that because I was maybe doing good by helping everyone else that I could still get to see Max sometimes.”

Wally did drag the boy off his baseball beanbag and into his arms at that, ignoring the confused squawking as he did so. His voice was thick when he spoke next. “I think it’s worse that you thought I’d help because of those reasons than if you’d thought I was some sort of monster who would help because I wanted rid of you.” He sighed and loosened his hold and leaned back to look at Bart. “Nothing comes above family Bart, and you’re family. There was never any chance that I was ever going to go hunting down Inertia to let him replace you again. And it doesn’t matter that he was smarter than you, or cleaner, or listened more, or behaved himself better, because he took you away from us and then pretended to be you. He didn’t come to us under his own merits; he weaselled his way in under yours.”

Wally sighed again. “I’m sorry none of us realised he wasn’t you.” He said, then he had a sudden thought. “You do know that you’re allowed to be angry with us for that don’t you?” he asked, because he and Max had discussed this very point, and the way Bart kept forgiving people. He’d all but admitted to Wally that he hadn’t spoken to any of his Young Justice friends because he didn’t want them to feel bad for being duped. It wasn’t a normal reaction.

“Why would I be angry? It’s not anyone’s fault.” was Bart’s response.

Wally dragged the kid in for another hug before getting to his feet and pulling Bart up with him. Getting Bart back to normal was going to be harder than they thought. Building up what seemed like a completely shattered sense of self-worth was looking impossible.

“Come on Kid. I know Helen was making cookies when I came in earlier. They’re probably done by now.”

“Wally?” Bart’s voice stopped him at the door and he looked down at him in question. “Why are you all acting so weird? You know, worried and stuff?”

Wally ruffled the wild mass of hair. “Because we love you kid.” He slung an arm round Bart’s shoulders and led him through to the kitchen where Helen had cookies waiting on the table for them.


End file.
